Structural and optical properties of LiNbO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

We report the deposition of good quality, highly textured LiNbO3 thin films on <0001> sapphire substrates using the pulsed laser deposition technique. Thin films composition and structure have been determined using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) experiments. The influence of deposition parameters such as substrate temperature and oxygen pressure on the structure of the films has been studied. To improve surface smoothness of the film, an off-axis geometry has been used. The substrate surface lies in the plane defined by the plasma plume. The optical waveguiding properties of the as-obtained films have been demonstrated by m-line measurements of transverse-magnetic and transverse-electric modes at 633 nm.